Monthly Archives: June 2011

Post navigation

Fifty-four 4th to 8th graders will be vying for the Bee crown and the top prize of a $25,000 college scholarship during the 2011 National Geographic Bee at 6 p.m. Sunday and 10 p.m. Monday.

From frogfish and hagfish to naked mole rats and elephant seals, from vultures and warthogs to proboscis monkeys and the ugliest bug in Oklahoma, Nature: The Beauty of Ugly at 7 p.m. Sunday shows how and why ugly can be beautiful.

Antiques Roadshow: Politically Collect at 8 p.m. Monday throws its hat in the ring with this special edition, a salute to the presidential election and the keepsakes of political battles long past.

Abraham and Mary Lincoln: American Experience at 9 p.m. Monday illuminates the Lincoln’s tempestuous and passionate marriage: she has a temper; he suffers bouts of depression.

Wes Cowan decodes the message and the strategy behind a U.S. World War II propaganda leaflet and Gwen Wright traces a cherished family heirloom to the world of Tiffany stained glass on History Detectives at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

POV: My Perestroika at 9 p.m. Tuesday takes an intimate look at the last generation of Soviet children. Five classmates go from living sheltered childhoods to experiencing the hopes of Gorbachev’s reforms and the confusion of the USSR’s dissolution to searching for their places in today’s Moscow.

Secrets of the Dead: Executed in Error at 7 p.m. Wednesday tells the story of Hawley Crippen, who was convicted of poisoning and brutally dismembering his wife in 1910. However, analysis of the remains done this year proves that not only was the body not his wife.

Nova at 8 p.m. Wednesday joins the leading dream researchers and witnesses the extraordinary experiments used to investigate the world of sleep in What are Dreams?

NOVA ScienceNow at 9 p.m. Wednesday investigates how the brain allows us to think, act, feel, behave and process the world around us.

Austin City Limits at 10 p.m. Wednesday and 9 p.m. Friday brings French/Spanish singer/songwriter and international star Manu Chao to the stage as he showcases politically charged, danceable rock ‘n’ roll from his album La Radiolina.

Evan Smith chats with author and historian Douglas Brinkley on Overheard at 7 p.m. Thursday and 8:30 p.m. Friday. Brinkley’s books explore American history from old times to new, from one end of the country to the other, through profiles of events and people and institutions.

Back-to-back episodes of The Daytripper on Thursday from 7:30 to 10 pm.
Chet heads to College Station in search of the Spirit of Aggieland and explores the campus of Texas A&M University at 7:30 p.m. Thursday. Chet goes to Llano to dig into the town’s rock culture, view its winter bald eagles, and explore nearby Lake Buchanan at 8 p.m. Thursday. Chet heads to Galveston at 8:30 p.m. Chet travels to Mineral Wells at 9 p.m. Chet explores Austin south of the Colorado River at 9:30 p.m.

Civic Summit: 2012 Senate Race airs tonight (6/23) at 7:30pm. This co-production with the Texas Tribune features the four leading GOP politicians who have announced their intentions to run for the Texas U.S. Senate seat being left by Kay Bailey Hutchinson.

If you’re unable to catch the broadcast the entire program can be viewed online.

The Electric Company (PBS)
Produced by Sesame Workshop
THE ELECTRIC COMPANY is a multi-media literacy campaign charged with reducing the literacy gap between low and middle income families and advancing the idea that ‘reading is cool.’

Winner for:
• Outstanding Children’s Series
• Outstanding Achievement in Single Camera Editing
• Outstanding Writing in A Children’s Series

Sesame Street (PBS)
Produced by Sesame Workshop
The people on this very special street learn life’s lessons together, provide viewers with strong role models and teach children that everyone brings a special ability to the community. On SESAME STREET, children learn to use their imaginations, build social skill, and respect people’s differences.

On Monday, June 27th, KLRU-Q features a night of documentaries about the film. From classic films to B-movies, these documentaries give viewers an inside look at Hollywood.

8 pm – Anatomy ’59: The Making of a Classic Motion Picture – Explores the crime, the trial and book that inspired the courtroom thriller “Anatomy of a Murder.”

9 pm – Hollywood Scrapbook – A look at producer Eric G. Stacey and the evolution of moral and sexual themes in films of his time. He worked with legendary directors such as Victor Flemming, Alfred Hitchcock, Michael Curtiz, Frank Capra, Raoul Walsh, Nicholas Ray, Elia Kazan and George Stevens.

Starting at 10 am each Saturday, KLRU Create offers viewers themed programming to get you started on various projects. KLRU Create is on channel 18.2 over the air.

June 25 Garden Fresh
Enjoy a full day of P. Allen Smith’s Farm to Table. From the backyard, straight to your kitchen table, Allen uses the freshest ingredients in his easy to make recipes including blueberry muffins, frittatas and pear salad. Allen will also show us that goodies from the garden aren’t just to eat. You’ll enjoy his home décor tips too. Spend the day with P. Allen Smith!

July 2 All American Barbecue
It’s time for the annual Independence Day cookout, and the “Grill Master” Steven Raichlen s taking us on a barbecue tour from sea to shining sea. This U.S. barbecue excursion starts in the Midwest and heads to all the cookout hotspots, all the way down through Southern California. Treat your Fourth of July revelers to an all-American barbecue with Create!

July 9 Sail Away
Hop on board with Create this Saturday, as we head around the world by boat. All hands will be on deck for an amazing variety of adventures with Create’s travel pros, including Rudy Maxa and Rick Steves. It’s a fantastic time on the high seas!

July 16 A Stitch in Time
Enjoy this marathon “one stitch at a time” this Saturday. Join Create’s needle art experts, Nancy Zieman and Martha Pullen, as they transform ordinary fabric into a fashion statement, and watch as hosts Georgia Bonsteel, Marianne Fons and Liz Porter piece together warm and cozy quilts. For those who love to knit and crochet, we’ll have something for you too!

July 23 Good Grapes: Vine Talk Marathon
Tune in to a full day of Vine Talk with actor Stanley Tucci. Tucci leads a lively wine-tasting panel of A-list celebrity guests including Nathan Lane, Lidia Bastianich, John Lithgow and Steven Raichlen. They’ll pop the cork on chardonnays, rieslings, pinot noirs and interesting conversation. Toast the good life and good grapes!

July 30 I Love the Nightlife
All across Earth, the party heats up as the sun goes down. Our intrepid travel guides including Joseph Rosendo and Rudy Maxa take us around the world to celebrate and experience the nightlife. Be sure to get a nap during the day, because this party doesn’t stop until the sun comes up!

August 6 Global Rhythm
Put your dancing shoes on as we travel the world to join in on the Global Rhythm! Dance is at the center of all cultures, Rudy Maxa gets up close and personal with Flamenco dancers in Madrid. Rick Steves kicks up his feet in Ireland and Jacob Edgar takes a spin in Columbia’s Capital of Salsa. You don’t want to miss a booming beat of this marathon.

August 13 Be Cool
The heat wave is on and we’re ready to cool down. Pack your winter gear; we’re going on a jaunt to some of the coldest regions of the world. Burt Wolf, Joseph Rosendo and Art Wolfe will take us on an unforgettable journey through Canada and Switzerland. Chef Tina Nordstrom enjoys ice fishing, reindeer races and more exciting activities in Sweden. This marathon will be chocked with enough fun, it will put you on ice until winter.

August 20 South American Adventures
From the Amazon to the Andes, South America is a land of natural wonders, intense flavors, and vibrant people. Intrepid tour guides Darley Newman, Rudy Maxa and Art Wolfe will take us on an unforgettable tour of uruguay, Argentina and Brazil while Regina Fraser and Pat Johnson also known as the Grannies on Safari make their way through Lima, Peru. This quick jaunt to the Southern Hemisphere will have you humming “The Girl From Ipanema.”

August 27 Born in the USA
A tour back and forth across the United States with travel expert and historian Burt Wolf will no doubt be a whirlwind of exciting sights and sounds- including stops in Napa Valley, Chicago, Naples, Florida, Boston and Richmond, Virginia. Whether the destination is serene or a burgeoning metropolis, you’ll enjoy the journey. And don’t miss Burt Wolf’s stops in the Alaska and the Big Apple to bring the tour of the USA full-circle.

PBS NewsHour will provide live coverage of President Obama’s speech regarding Afghanistan troop levels on Wednesday, June 22, at 7 pm.

We are currently waiting for details on the length of the speech to set the final lineup for the evening. This post will be updated as soon as the schedule is set.

Shows originally scheduled to air on June 22 were:

Secrets of the Dead “Blackbeard’s Lost Ship”
Edward Teach, alias Blackbeard, was the most notorious pirate of his day. At the height of his rein, he commanded a fleet of four ships and a crew of 400 men. They were ruthless seafaring raiders who terrorizing vessels in American waters. In 1717, Blackbeard even blockaded the city of Charleston, crippling its economy. Eventually he was caught and beheaded by a posse from the Royal Navy. Now, 300 years later, a marine archaeology team believes they have found his sunken flagship, Queen Anne’s Revenge, off the North Carolina coast. The remains of the shipwreck are helping solve the most enduring mystery surrounding the infamous pirate captain – did he accidentally run his ship aground, or was it a deliberate plot to betray his crew and cheat them out of their share of the plunder?

Nova “Space Shuttle Disaster”
On February 1, 2003, the space shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas just 16 minutes before it was due to land. All seven astronauts aboard perished and the implications for the future of the space shuttle program were enormous. What caused the Columbia tragedy? An engineering flaw? A failure within NASA? A lack of financing? Could this catastrophe have been avoided? Through interviews with astronauts and their families, as well as with members of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, “Space Shuttle Disaster” gives viewers a new look at the Columbia tragedy – and at NASA itself. From the creation of NASA through decades of technical and financial compromises, the program gets to the heart of what went wrong – and how to make sure it never happens again.

Britain’s XFiles
The amazing true stories of Britain’s X-Files are uncovered for the first time. In 1950, a spate of UFO (unidentified flying object) sightings by Royal Air Force pilots inspired the British Government to set up the top-secret Flying Saucer Working Party. In 1952, UFOs reappeared over southern England and, sensationally, over the White House in Washington. As panic escalated, Winston Churchill demanded to know what was going on and the Ministry of Defence set up a permanent UFO Investigation Unit. We now know that over the next 50 years, the government unit secretly investigated and dismissed hundreds of UFO sightings. Why did it take so many years for the Government to admit its activities? This film travels back in time to examine the political climate in the early 1950s.

Austin City Limits
Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings burn up the stage with their modern take on classic soul and funk. Texas treasure Carolyn Wonderland follows with her incendiary blend of rock, blues and soul.

KLRU is pleased to announce that The Cain Foundation has renewed its steadfast commitment to educational children’s programming through continued funding of Sesame Street. They are also supporting the production of Operation Appreciation, a one-time special documentary that tells the patriotic story of retirees from Georgetown, TX, who give heartfelt thank yous to soldiers reporting for duty at Fort Hood as well as those injured in combat. This production will be completed in time to air locally July 4th weekend. We’re so grateful to continue a partnership with The Cain Foundation into 2012 – thank you for all you do!

Join the Juneteenth Jamboree 2011 at 6 p.m. Sunday and 10 p.m. Monday. Dr. Jessica Grogan puts the Civil War in perspective with “Remember the Civil War?” and children’s host Funmi Ogunro leads viewers through restaurants and recipes that will satisfy your family.

On Masterpiece Mystery! “Poirot XI: Three Act Tragedy” at 8 p.m. Sunday Poirot visits his friend Sir Charles Cartwright who hosts a cocktail party at his home where a local Reverend chokes to death.

Abraham and Mary Lincoln: “Ambition” at 9 p.m. Monday tells the story of Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln’s childhoods – his in a remote backwoods log cabin, hers in a wealthy Kentucky home – and describes their courtship.

The History Detectives investigate mysterious airplane engine parts that lead Eduardo Pagan to a forbidden Hawaiian island where he finds a heroic story often overshadowed by the raid on Pearl Harbor at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Frontline unravels the story behind the world’s first truly global Ponzi scheme-a deception that lasted longer, reached wider, and cut deeper than any other business scandal in history on “The Madoff Affair” at 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Sixteen chefs, including Jacquy Pfeiffer, co-founder of Chicago’s French Pastry School, whip up the most gorgeous, delectable, gravity-defying concoctions and edge-of-your-seat drama as they deliver their spun-sugar desserts to the display table on POV Kings of Pastry at 9 p.m. Tuesday.

Three-hundred years after the height of his reign, a marine archaeology team believes they have found the sunken flagship of the notorious pirate “Blackbeard” off the North Carolina coast on Secrets of the Dead at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

On February 1, 2003, NASA space shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas just 16 minutes before it was due to land. Through interviews with astronauts and their families, as well as with members of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, Nova: Space Shuttle Disaster gives viewers a new look at the Columbia tragedy and at NASA itself at 8 p.m. Wednesday.

In 1950, a slew of UFO sightings by Royal Air Force pilots led the British Government to set up a top-secret UFO Investigation Unit. Find out about this UFO group as the true stories of Britain’s X-Files are uncovered at 9 p.m. Wednesday.

Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings burn up the stage with their modern take on classic soul and funk on this episode of Austin City Limits at 10 p.m. Wednesday and 9 p.m. Friday. Texas treasure Carolyn Wonderland follows with her incendiary blend of rock, blues and soul.

Civic Summit: 2010 U.S. Senate Forum includes a moderated conversation with the five leading G.O.P. politicians on the issues facing the 2012 U.S. Senate Race including the failed Texas budget, foreign policy, health care reform and other issues at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.

Chet explores Austin south of the Colorado River including trailer parks, Barton Springs, and country two-steppin’ on this episode of The Daytripper at 8:30 p.m Thursday.

Find out why the wildlife depends on summer’s garden on this week’s episode of Central Texas Gardener at noon Saturday.

French/Spanish singer/songwriter and international star Manu Chao showcases politically charged, danceable rock ‘n’ roll from his album La Radiolina during this episode of Austin City Limits at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Rarely seen Austin City Limits taping footage to be shown in special screening series at Alamo theaters this summer

KLRU-TV, producing station of the famed PBS series Austin City Limits, and the Alamo Drafthouse announced today a new series of screenings of classic ACL episodes. Reel Rarities: Handpicked Gems from the ACL Vault begins on Monday, July 25th. In addition to presenting a vintage episode, highlights from the show’s 37 years of legendary performances will be featured. Tickets to attend Reel Rarities: Handpicked Gems From The ACL Vault screenings are $5 each and all proceeds from ticket sales will go to the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians. Tickets can be purchased at drafthouse.com.

“I always knew that Austin City Limits would make it to the big screen some day, and the Alamo Drafthouse is the perfect partner to make it happen,” said ACL Producer Terry Lickona. “The Alamo has always offered the best quality, not to mention most fun, movie-going experience possible, and now they’ll do the same with some of the best shows from the ACL archives. Their amazing digital projection system and state of the art sound should make these classic shows ‘larger than life’ in more ways than one, and we look forward to digging even deeper into the archives in the months to come.”

“We were thrilled when Guerilla Suit’s James Moody brought the idea of a partnership between the Alamo Drafthouse and Austin City Limits,” said Alamo Drafthouse Chief Creative Officer Henri Mazza. “Partnering up with an institutional icon like ACL makes perfect sense to us. And personally, I’m just excited to get a chance to watch these incredible shows in a theatrical setting with fans of the series and the artists. We’re gonna crank up the volume and do everything we can to take the audience on a time traveling trip back to these legendary performances.”

For more than three decades Austin City Limits has presented audiences with the most diverse, original, cutting-edge talent music has to offer with over 800 performances taped.

The first screenings in the series will be:

July 25: Willie Nelson Pilot followed by highlights from the ACL archives at the Alamo Drafthouse RitzAugust 1: Willie Nelson Pilot followed by highlights from the ACL archives at the Alamo Drafthouse Village
Willie Nelson recorded the pilot episode of Austin City Limits in 1974. The performance that started it all features “Whiskey River” and more.

August 29: Tom Waits followed by highlights from the ACL archives at the Alamo Drafthouse RitzSeptember 5: Tom Waits followed by highlights from the ACL archives at the Alamo Drafthouse Village
A classic Tom Waits performance from 1978 is one of Austin City Limits most requested episodes. This intimate performances features songs “Burma Shave,” “Annie’s Back in Town,” “On the Nickel,” “Romeo Is Bleeding,” “Small Change,” and more.

This screening series is one the many ways you can Experience Austin City Limits, an initiative to spread awareness of the acclaimed PBS television series. Now the longest-running music series in American television history, ACL showcases popular music legends and innovators from every genre. In addition to being honored by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum as a rock and roll landmark, ACL is the only television program to ever receive the National Medal of Arts, the nation’s highest award for artistic excellence.

These showings are only in select theaters and have limited seating.

All ticket proceeds will go to benefit the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians. Learn more about HAAM here: myhaam.orgmore →

Thanks to all of you who gave during our weekend fundraising drive last weekend. We surpassed our goal with a total of $42,847 – almost 300 supporters of KLRU called in or gave online!

We depend on your support and enthusiasm to do what KLRU does best: engage, educate and entertain Central Texas. Because of you, we’re able to provide incredible programming and community events for everyone!